Jarrett Walker
Public transit planning consultant; wrote Human Transit and argues that a network's shape follows from what a city decides it wants.
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What they believe
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A transport idea that does not scale does not matter, and it is for the rich: inefficiency is inequality.
If it doesn’t scale, it’s for the rich. Or to put it another way: Inefficiency is inequality.
humantransit.orgSaid 20 Dec 2018This on korrents
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Technology never changes geometry: a transport problem has to be solved spatially before it is solved at all.
When we are talking about space, we are talking about geometry, not engineering, and technology never changes geometry.
humantransit.orgSaid 21 Jul 2016This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
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Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 11 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
A transport idea that does not scale does not matter, and it is for the rich: inefficiency is inequality.
If it doesn’t scale, it’s for the rich. Or to put it another way: Inefficiency is inequality.
Elon Musk's Tunnel: It Doesn't Scale, so it Doesn't Matter Said 20 Dec 2018
The real cost of transport demonstration projects is that they confuse decision-makers about whether mass transit still needs building.
While delivering almost nothing useful, they are confusing elite opinion about whether we still need to build mass transit, which we do.
Elon Musk's Tunnel: It Doesn't Scale, so it Doesn't Matter Said 20 Dec 2018
Technology never changes geometry: a transport problem has to be solved spatially before it is solved at all.
When we are talking about space, we are talking about geometry, not engineering, and technology never changes geometry.
Basics: Technology Never Changes Geometry Said 21 Jul 2016
Show 8 more
Replacing big transit vehicles with small ones puts more vehicles on the street to move the same people, which is the one thing a dense city has no room for.
In dense cities, where big transit vehicles (including buses) are carrying significant ridership, any “small vehicles replacing big vehicles” solution increases the total number of vehicles on the road at any time.
Basics: Technology Never Changes Geometry Said 21 Jul 2016
Tech marketing assumes that whatever sells to the rich today sells to everyone tomorrow, but some things stop working when everybody buys them.
It runs on the assumption that whatever we sell to the wealthy today we can sell to the masses tomorrow. But some things stop working when everybody buys them.
Basics: Technology Never Changes Geometry Said 21 Jul 2016
Frequent fixed-route buses are the only way to cover a whole city with useful transit quickly, which makes them a land-use decision rather than a fallback.
But the only way to grow enough corridors quickly, so that you cover much of the city with frequent service that can succeed in ridership terms, is to take frequent fixed-route bus service seriously.
Basics: Technology Never Changes Geometry Said 21 Jul 2016
Self-driving cars will not fix commuting; the US needs public transportation instead.
However successful driverless cars become, transit will remain crucial for dense cities because cities are defined by a shortage of space per person.
no, autonomous cars will not "abolish transit" in dense cities Said 4 Nov 2014
No dense city anywhere runs without heavy reliance on transit, and no new transport technology changes the space arithmetic that makes that true.
There is no dense city in the world that does not rely heavily on transit, for reasons of space-efficiency that none of the new technologies can change.
no, autonomous cars will not "abolish transit" in dense cities Said 4 Nov 2014
In low-density places driverless taxis really will beat buses, and transit agencies should hand that work over and concentrate on dense corridors.
Driverless taxis will be more efficient than transit in these areas.
no, autonomous cars will not "abolish transit" in dense cities Said 4 Nov 2014
The problem of cars in cities is a geometry problem, not a technology problem: no invention creates room for everybody's car.
But the problem of cars in cities is not a technology problem, it’s a geometry problem: a problem of space.
Technology vs Geometry at the Venice Biennale Said 7 Jun 2010
Rich people will have self-driving cars and the city will not be built around them.
Rich people may have self-driving cars, but they won’t be the basis of the city.
Technology vs Geometry at the Venice Biennale Said 7 Jun 2010
Beliefs others hold too
Self-driving cars will not fix commuting; the US needs public transportation instead. 2 hold this
However successful driverless cars become, transit will remain crucial for dense cities because cities are defined by a shortage of space per person.
no, autonomous cars will not "abolish transit" in dense cities Said 4 Nov 2014
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Recommends rcmnd
rcmnd What they recommend 3 things — each backed by an exact quote.
Compiled by rcmnd.app, not by them: the quotes are theirs, and each links to the post it was copied from.
Recent
Recommends Elements of Access
Well, my book isn't in the bibliography, but Elements of Access is a good book anyway, whether for reading, browsing, or as a reference. I recommend it.
humantransit.org 15 Jan 2018
Recommends The Witness
I would like to recommend the computer game The Witness. Yes, this is off topic in a narrow sense. But I know many readers of this blog love the process of scientific discovery, and that's what The Witness is about.
humantransit.org 25 Dec 2017
Recommends Straphanger: Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile
I heartily recommend this fun, enlightening, and inspiring read.
humantransit.org 11 Jun 2012
What others say about Straphanger: Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile →
Where they publish
Blog Human Transit His blog on transit network design and the choices behind it. Has a feed.
Recent
- Measure RTM in the Bay Area: Why Vote Yes, and Why It Matters Nationwide 31 Oct 2026
- Washington DC: Our Two-Day Course in Transit Network Design 30 Oct 2026
- Signing “The Planner’s Pledge” 13 Oct 2026
Show 7 more
- Should I Vote for a Tax to Fund Public Transit? 7 Oct 2026
- Milwaukee: Transit Options for the “Fiscal Cliff” 27 Sept 2026
- The “Waymo Will Make Transit Obsolete” Argument 16 Sept 2026
- Does Portland Still Care about Transit? 23 Aug 2026
- An Instructive Win for Transit in Spokane 12 Aug 2026
- New Interview of Me on “War on Cars” Podcast 5 Aug 2026
- New Interview of Me on Strong Towns Podcast 14 Jul 2026
Link verified 20 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
Bluesky @humantransit.bsky.social Their Bluesky account.
Recent
- The election spam continues to clog my phone but now it's all from one person. 5 Nov 2026
- They always tell us that the stock market will crash if we don't elect conservatives. But sometimes it crashes only for certain notorious conservatives, and everyone else is fine. Beautiful headline pairing from the @nytimes.com just now: 4 Nov 2026
- While the leading opponent of Bay Area transit funding Measure #RTM often says that starving transit agencies will make them more efficient, here he reminds you that the real goal is to destroy transit. Reducing car trips is about so much more than tailpipe emissions. 2 Nov 2026
Show 17 more
- San Francisco Bay Area: Here is my final and most thorough argument for the transit ballot measure #RTM, one that both honors and refutes the most common claims of its critics. Please share! 2 Nov 2026 humantransit.org
- Measure RTM on the San Francisco Bay Area's ballot could have big impacts on transit across the US. Here's my explainer: 31 Oct 2026 humantransit.org
- Sometimes they just say it out loud. 31 Oct 2026 nyc.streetsblog.org
- Voting on a tax for public transit this season? Here's your tool for thinking through the eternal questions. 30 Oct 2026 humantransit.org
- Why is it always Republicans who are defunding the police? 30 Oct 2026 nytimes.com
- If I were trying to get people comfortable with riding buses with no adult employee on board, I'm not sure I'd start with school buses. The hand-waving here is not enough to comfort me given the obvious "Lord of the Flies" scenarios. 27 Oct 2026 open.substack.com
- Conferences used to have a smiling person behind a table who would welcome you and hand you a program. Now they require all this work. How is this better? What hidden cost is everyone paying? 27 Oct 2026
- Drove from San Francisco to Monterey (120 mi) today, and have no energy left. Driving is dangerous, stressful, and exhausting. Some people love it and are good at it, but it's appalling that we force so many people to do it just so they can have lives. 27 Oct 2026
- "Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva" is a really fun name to say. A pleasing combination of sounds, like a little poem. 26 Oct 2026
- "Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva" is a really fun name to say. A pleasing combination of sounds, like a little poem. 26 Oct 2026
- This guy who leads the opposition to the SF Bay Area's transit rescue measure RTM naturally talks about how badly some projects have been managed. Transit advocates are far more angry about this than he is. But that doesn't mean we'll vote to destroy transit as he proposes. 24 Oct 2026
- Blaise Pascal invented public transit in the 1660s. As the greatest mathematician of his age, he saw the math problem that only transit would solve. I wrote about this amazing story here. 20 Oct 2026 humantransit.org
- If you are unfortunate enough to be driving into San Francisco on I-80, please watch the road rather than judging the architecture. It's very dangerous right here. 18 Oct 2026 sfgate.com
- An email I send over and over these days. 17 Oct 2026
- Can someone in the SF Bay Area explain to me why the campaign for Measure RTM is about TRAFFIC but not HOUSING? How many people really have to travel at rush hour anymore? Housing is the #1 issue in the Bay Area, and housing depends on transit. Yet there is virtually no mention of it. 16 Oct 2026
- My advice to voters, especially in the SF Bay Area, on how to think about your vote on a transit funding measure. 15 Oct 2026 humantransit.org
- Lots of people drive cars in the US but that doesn't mean they want to. Car fanatics want us to believe that car-dominance is because customers love cars. But choices reveal desires only when there are real options. 15 Oct 2026 usa.streetsblog.org
Link verified 23 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
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